Connect E-Sports | Photo by Kayli Thompson | The Wright State Guardian
In Nov. 2020, Connect E-Sports opened its first physical location in Downtown Dayton after offering virtual gaming services to the public for two years prior.
The world of E-Sports
“There are different ways to define esport, but it basically means playing video games in tournaments. (And hopefully winning them and making this a source of income.),” said TechJury journalist Teddy Mitova earlier this year.
The world of E-Sports is growing in popularity from both the gamer and viewer perspective.
“Between 2018 and 2019, there was a 12.3% increase year over year. In 2019, there were 245 million casual viewers and 198 million enthusiasts, making the total audience 443 million,” said a representative from the Influencer Marketing Hub earlier this year.
Connect E-Sports owners Bob and Mary Baldino have worked to provide their customers with a great experience virtually for over two years before recently opening their storefront location for in-person gaming.
“We started our business in 2018, but it takes several years for a physical location to open. Over the past two years, we have worked on finding a space, creating an operations plan, and construction to have our storefront in Downtown Dayton,” said co-owner Mary Baldino.
Connect E-Sports in-person
Although coronavirus has limited their in-person operations to Friday’s and Saturday’s through the end of the year, owners Mary and Bob Baldino are still working to offer all of their in person services when they are open.
“We have 20 gaming PC’s and 8 Xbox’s that anyone can walk in and play the titles we have available by the hour. We also offer organized leagues and tournaments that can be played completely online, an ability to rent out a streaming booth to have access to new streaming equipment that also can connect you to new fans/gamers, and we organize esports events for organizations,” said Baldino.
Virtual services
Connect E-Sports offers an app called At Home in which people can register for upcoming tournaments and compete from home.
“Once registration is complete, Connect E-Sports will organize a bracketing system, and communicate the private lobby information to players. Designated team captains record wins and losses with Connect E-Sports, and winners are determined. Prizes for leagues or tournaments can range from cash prizes to hours for your Connect E-Sports account,” said Baldino. “A few online events we have coming up is a NYE online tournament (full details still to come), as well as two full leagues to start in January for Rocket League and Counter-Strike.”
For more information on Connect E-Sports, follow the Connect E-Sports Facebook page or go to: https://connectesports.com/
